Top 12 apprentices do battle at InstallerShow
12th June 2025
UK: Twelve of the RACHP industry’s brightest young talents will battle it out at this month’s InstallerShow for the chance to compete in the WorldSkills UK final.
The competitors will battle it out over three days (24-26 June) in front of a live audience of visitors to the show at the NEC in Birmingham, with the top six going forward to compete for bronze, silver, and gold medals at the UK final in Wales this November.
Competitors under 21 at the time of the final and who score above average will also be considered for the UK’s international squad preparing to compete at the 2028 Skills Olympics in Aichi, Japan.
The full list of competitors is:
Brandan Rushton
Practical Refrigeration Training Centre
Building & Maintenance Services Ltd
Samuel Jones
Practical Refrigeration Training Centre
Industrial Cooling Equipment
George Agate
City of Portsmouth College
Norton Group
Evan Christopher Jones
City of Portsmouth College
Lightfoot Defence Ltd
Louis James
Cardiff and Vale College
Snap Air Conditioning
Craig Gow
Glasgow Kelvin College
Cool air Refrigeration
Isaac Jervis
Royal Military School of Engineers
Royal Engineers
Anand Limbu
Royal Military School of Engineers
Royal Engineers
Pukar Limbu Tumbahangphe
Royal Military School of Engineers
Royal Engineers
Daniel Hunt
Royal Military School of Engineers
Royal Engineers
Taylor McLaughlin
Cubic Works
Michael Brady
The City of Liverpool College
Climarite
The RACHP skills competition is organised by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and is sponsored by the UK’s largest F-gas registration company REFCOM and UK heat pump manufacturer Baxi.
The qualifying event, which is also supported by industry body ACRIB (Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Board), will test the apprentices’ skills in real-life scenarios including fault finding/diagnosis, fabrication, and the service and maintenance of technical equipment as well as everyday skills like time management and organisation.
They will be required to complete two tasks lasting two and a half hours each. One will involve the replacement of components and electrical testing, and the other will focus on refrigeration pipework fabrication.
The judging panel will comprise experts from AE Refrigeration, Beijer Ref, Bitzer, Danfoss, Mapel Mechanical, RACHP School and Tesco.
“This will be an amazing and potentially life-changing experience for all 12 of these impressive apprentices,” said BESA’s technical director Kevin Morrissey.
“Demonstrating your skills in front of a live audience and a high calibre judging panel may be a bit daunting, but they will all benefit from the experience.
“We are all working hard to find solutions to the industry’s wider skills shortage so giving. young people a platform and celebrating talent in high profile competitions is more important than ever.”
“The STEM agenda is as relevant today as it has ever been,” added Baxi UK and Ireland managing director Jan Rijnan. “We need talented young engineers to help us in this critical transition to clean heat and hot water, and for them to realise this sector offers a fantastic and meaningful career opportunity.”
